Dal Makhani

There are so many variations of Dal throughout India, the differences are down to seasonality and regional produce availability, for instance in the north of India, Ghee, cream and dry spices are predominantly used in the cuisine, however in the south the use of coconut cream and fresh spices and herbs are what makes the southern cuisine so different from the north. Dal Makhani was the very first dish that I ate when I landed in Delhi. I remember at the time feeling hopelessly lost, I had only just left home and waved goodbye to my parents in the airport, and had cried almost all the way to Delhi, and in hindsight I maybe should have chosen somewhere a little less intense as my first port of call during my backpacking adventure. As soon as I landed in Delhi, complete with my brand new back pack and shiny walking boots, I came down to earth with a huge bang, the poverty and cultural diversity scared me to death in all honesty, and after a few hours hiding away in my hotel room hunger pangs set in. This was the very first dish that I ate and as soon as I tried it I knew I was going to be fine, I stopped worrying about where I was and stopped missing home, this dish propelled me to find out more about street food and was the metaphoric comforting hug I needed to spark my enthusiasm and encourage me to travel further. Mung Beans are probably my favourite pulse to use in a dal and this mild flavoured curry is so rich a creamy it would suit any palate.

This serves 4 very greedy people

500g of mung beans that have been soaked overnight (probably about 250g of dried beans)
3 tbsp of ghee
150g of chopped red onion
3/4 tsp of onion seed
20 curry leaves
1 1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/2 tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
5 cardamon pods
3 tsp of maldon salt
50g of garlic paste (crushed in a pestle and mortar)
50g of ginger paste (crushed in a pestle and mortar)
2 1/2 pints of water
1 chicken or vegetable stock pot
100ml of double cream
1 tbsp of sugar
50g of chopped fresh cherry tomatoes
the juice of half a lemon
a handful of chopped corriander

In a sauce pan Melt the ghee on a high heat and add the curry leaves, onion seed and chopped onions, fry until the onions are golden brown, this is what gives a northern curry depth of flavour, follow this with the dried spices and cardamon pods, fry for a few minutes until the rawness has been cooked out of the spices. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for a couple of minutes, add the mung beans and water and cook for a couple of hours, the longer the better, if you need to top up the water you can. When the mung beans are beginning to break down into a porridge like texture add the stock pot, the salt, sugar, cherry tomatoes and the cream, cook for a further half an hour and finish with the lemon juice and chopped corriander.
Serve with chapatis and rice.

Lusse kata

A Swedish christmas just is not complete without Lussekata. I spoke before in my saffron chicken post about these delicious sweet saffron breads and how I am totally addicted to saffron, once again I have to discuss the expense of the spice however my local market trader "The Spanish Food Cupboard" sells premium grade spanish saffron at a fraction of the price of the supermarkets.

 I know that the cost of saffron will be hugely to do with the time consuming labour, picking out each tiny stamen of each crocus flower one at a time.

No Swedish household would ever celebrate christmas without the beloved Lussekata bun, a bread dedicated to the jul time event of Santa Lucia (Saint Lucia), each year one particular young girl would be Santa Lucia and would wear a white long night gown with a red sash and a ring of candles on her head, my mother would always tell me stories of when she too was the Santa lucia. These breads are incredibly flavoursome and totally addictive, very similar to a brioche with copious amounts of saffron. 

I have to reiterate my childhood memory when my mother would make these breads in the run up to christmas, the smell of the dough rising ontop of the boiler was always to much temptation to take, so much so that I would often eat the raw dough, and although every year I would always get a tremendous stomach ache as a result of my greed I would still repeat my mistakes annually. They are wonderful breads to make, easy for even the most novice bakers.

This recipe will make roughly 24 lussekata
You will need:
500ml of whole milk
50g of fresh yeast
200g of butter
900g of strong white bread flour
150g of caster sugar plus 1 teaspoon of sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
2g saffron threads
2 eggs for an egg wash

Preheat the oven 180 degrees c.

Melt the butter in the pan or in a microwave and set aside to cool. Warm the milk until it is luke warm or blood temperature, add the yeast, butter and 150g of sugar and set aside to activate. Mean while in a large bowl or mixer (my mother has a seriously ancient machine) mix the the salt and flour together. In a pestle and mortar crush the saffron with the teaspoon of sugar, the sugar will help to break down the saffron threads. Add the saffron powder to the yeast and then the yeast mixture to the flour and salt. Begin to either knead by hand or mix until the mixture starts to come together, add a large egg and knead or mix for a minimum of 10 minutes with a machine or 20 minutes by hand. Every brand of flour is different so if you dough is a little on the wet side add a tablespoon more flour, the dough should be slightly tacky to touch as this will create the lightest dough. 

 Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for at least an hour before you roll, plait and twist your dough into the shapes and patterns you desire. We usually roll out a small sections of dough into a long thin sausage and roll into two swirls from opposite ends but you can really do whatever you desire. Stud each Lusse kata with fat plump raisins and brush with egg wash. Set aside somewhere warm and allow to rise again for a further half hour before baking for 15-20 minutes, until golden and delicious.

Kanel Bullar-Swedish cinnamon buns

After years of secrecy and a whole lot of begging, my mother has finally decided to lift the lid on her swedish Cinnamon bun recipe. Cinnamon buns or Kanel bullar as they are know in Sweden are probably the most popular sweet treat, such is their popularity that the swirly treats are even sold freshly baked in most petrol stations (I kid you not). 

 This is one of the very first things that I baked with my mother whilst stood on a chair, propped up against the work surface. We would make dozens at a time, the kitchen air heady with the scent of cinnamon. My mother would always place the buns under a clean cloth so that the buns would steam and remain soft, then only problem was that if I came home from school and saw that cloth laid over a lumpy mound of secret treasures I knew it was cinnamon bun time. I have been brought up on these, as my mother was, so it's only right that she would make the best buns I have tasted, I have to say that my Auntie Birgitta also gives my mum a good run for her money, and would often make huge bags of cinnamon buns and give them to my father as a christmas present. The dough of the buns are yeast based and because they contain a lot of butter and eggs the buns taste very similar to a cinnamon laden brioche.

  Swedes use various different spices in their breads and sweets which offers a different dimension and deeper flavour in the finished result, in this case cardamon is used, a spice not only great in curries but wonderful in bread too.

You will need:
For the dough
800g of bread flour
300g of melted butter
300ml of lukewarm milk
100g of fresh yeast
4 tbsp of golden syrup
2 eggs
3 tsp of Ground cardamon (or crush it yourself in a pestle and mortar)


For the filling
250g of butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
250g of light brown caster sugar
Cinnamon (there is no specific amount)
200g of grated marzipan

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c
2 eggs for the egg wash and pearl sugar if you can get it, or use flaked almonds for texture.

Firstly heat the milk in a pan until lukewarm, add the melted butter and ensuring that both ingredients are luke warm (blood temperature)add the yeast and golden syrup and allow to activate for five minutes.
In a large mixing bowl add the flour and cardamon and mix in the yeast mixture in slowly as well as the two eggs. Mix by hand until the dough is fully incorporated then on a floured surface knead the dough for at least ten minutes. Place back into the bowl, cover with a cloth and leave it in a warm place for an hour.

For the filling mix the sugar, butter and vanilla until very soft. 
When the dough has risen, knock it back (punch the air out) and divide the dough into two. On a floured surface roll out the first half of the dough into a rough rectangle roughly 1/2 cm thick, spread half of the sweetened butter over the dough and dust the dough all over with cinnamon powder, be liberal! Top the dough with half the grated marzipan, spread all over the dough. Roll the dough into a large sausage, rolling from one side to the other. Using a bread knife slice the dough sausage into rounds roughly an inch and a half thick, place each bun into a muffin case and allow to rise again for half an hour. Repeat this process with the second half of the dough. When the buns have risen for the second time, brush with egg wash and either top with pearl sugar or flaked almonds, bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Goan Green Tandoori chicken

I know that Tandoori Chicken to most people is a vivid red colour, and the thought of having Green tandoori chicken would seem very odd, I too had that mind set before I backpacked throughout India and found out first hand that a lot of "Anglo Indian" traditions are not necessarily authentic. This was the very first meat dish that I had in India, the weeks leading up to this point I had been basking in the vegetarian glory of India. With my Inner carnivore calling and after long hours venturing to the hippy haven of Palolem Goa (the sort of place where the Beatles must have visited) I decided to have what was called Chicken Tandoor on the menu. Although people may believe that Tandoori is a flavour it is actually the name of the oven in that chicken is cooked in, Chicken cooked in a Tandoor oven. A tandoor oven is a huge clay pot filled with coals or wood that reach searingly hot temperatures which subsequently cooks the chicken at lighting speeds which means that the meat has less time to dry out and retains ultimate moisture. 

I have to confess when this chicken was placed in front of me, I was a little confused as to why it was green, I suspect that this is what tandoori looks like from being marinated in fresh ingredients as opposed to dried spices and a helping hand from a cheeky food colouring. I have to say that the memory of this chicken has always stayed with me, green or not it was absolutely delicious.

You will need:

For the garlic, ginger paste:

50g of fresh Garlic

50g of fresh ginger

2 tsp salt

For the chicken brine:

1 1/2 tsp salt

100ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the spice paste:

75g of corriander stalks

2 deseeded green chillies

2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp of aesofatida powder

1/4 tsp mango powder

1 tsp of turmeric

1/2 tsp of chilli powder

1 tsp of corriander powder

1/4 tsp of garam masala

200ml natural yogurt

4 large chicken breasts cut into huge chunks

Firstly crush the ginger and garlic in a pestle and mortar using the salt as an abrasive.

Dissolve the next lot of salt in the lemon juice ad then pour over the chicken and allow to sit.

In a food processor, pulse the corriander stalks, chillies and spices until it is a fine paste, add the yogurt and ginger and garlic paste and pulse until fully combined.

Pour the spiced yogurt over the chicken and mix throughly, cover and refrigerate over night.

The best way I have found to cook this is to skewer the meat with metal skewers and chargrill each set of skewered meat firstly on a searingly hot grill pan, then when the chicken has colour finish them in an extremely hot oven 220 degrees C for no more than five minutes. Leave to rest then indulge.

Murgh Makhani

For those of you who do not know, there is no such thing as a chicken tikka masala in India, it's a dish that has been made up in this country to suit our British palate. The closest dish in India I have ever come to our Anglo-Indian curry, is either butter chicken or Murgh Makhani. I'm sure that a lot of people do not know how Chicken tikka masala originated, I have heard that the Tikka masala was invented in Birmingham, but others say Glasgow, I digress, the story goes that a customer at an Indian restaurant had complained that the dish he had ordered was too spicy, and when the chef was asked to adapt the curry to the customers taste he improvised by using a tin of tomato soup and cream to make the curry milder. Tikka masala has become such a huge success in this country that we have now adopted the curry as a national dish. I was asked by my students in my class to  teach them how to make a chicken tikka masala, a request that makes me want to weep with despair, so what I came up with was a compromise, a half way point between Anglo Indian and authentic Indian. So here is my British style Murgh Makhani, designed with even heat haters in mind. 

You will need:

For the marinade:

500g Natural yogurt

1 tablespoon of mild paprika (for colour to the chicken)

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

1 tablespoon of meat tenderising powder

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp of aesofatida

a pinch of salt

Five very large chicken fillets

For the sauce

2 tablespoons of ghee

2 teaspoons of onion seed

20 curry leaves

one very large white onion sliced

1 tsp of chilli powder

2 tsp of turmeric

2 tsp of cumin powder

1 tsp corriander powder
1/4 tsp of mango powder

4 cloves

a pinch of saffron threads

5 bruised cardamon pods

2 tablespoons of crushed garlic

2 tablespoons of crushed ginger

1 tin of heinz tomato soup

200ml of double cream
1-2 tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sweet you like it

100ml water
1 chicken stock pot

the juice of a lemon

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 teaspoons of salt

a handful of chopped coriander

Make sure that you allow enough time to let your meat marinate overnight, longer if you can. Add all of the ingredients into a bowl and add large chunks of diced chicken. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
To start the curry melt the ghee in a large sauce pan, with the heat on high add the curry leaves, onion seed and onion and cook until the onions have begun to take on a golden colour. Add the Cumin powder, corriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric and mango powder. Cook for a further 5 minutes so that the rawness in the spices have had the chance to cook out (this is the mistake that most people make).Using one of the two teaspoons of sea salt crush the fresh garlic and ginger in a pestle and mortar until it is a paste. Add the ginger and garlic paste to the pan and cook for five minutes to cook the rawness out of the garlic. Once the onions, spices and garlic and ginger have made a rough paste, add the chicken and the contents of the marinade too, cook the chicken until it starts to turn white, this should take no more than 5 minutes. Add a pinch of saffron and the tomato soup (stick with me it works), follow this with the water, cloves and the bruised cardamon pods. I usually add the chicken stock pot and one tablespoon of sugar now, saving another for later one in case I think it needs more sweetness, cook the chicken on high for 5 more minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Finish with the cream,  remaining salt, lemon juice and sugar if necessary. Finish with a handful of chopped corriander.

Serve with Saffron rice and my coconut Sambal, not conventional but so very yummy.

Classy Calzone

  The Calzone is simply a folded pizza, I suspect that it has been created by italian street vendors for purely portable purposes. Though it may look like a long distant cousin of our classic Cornish Pasty, I can assure you the comparison is only visual. I call this Calzone "Classy" because I feel that in the UK, good authentic italian food is very hard to find, most pizza takeaways and restaurants specialize in grease heavy, bland versions on the classics. I had a very heated conversation with a friend of mine recently who insisted that Donner meat calzone was a wonderful thing to eat, I however feel that most Brits have never tried a good pizza, it's about the quality of ingredients, and in this case less is more. I know that Calzones are often filled with left over vegetables and cheese, but I have decided to filled mine with ingredients that I could only wish my local takeaway would do. By all means fill you Calzone with your chosen ingredients, but please no donner meat!Pizza dough is one of the easiest things to make and I can guarantee this will take less time to cook than ordering your pizza from your local takeaway.

 

For the dough:
400g of "00" pasta flour
2 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of honey
2 tsp of dried yeast
2 tbsp of olive oil
200ml of lukewarm water

For the Sauce:
2 tbsp of olive oil
3 tbsp of chopped garlic
1/4 tsp of dried chilli flakes
1 1/2 tsp of freshly chopped oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
100ml of water
400g of cherry tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees c.
In a large bowl combine the salt and flour, measure the water in a jug and add the yeast and honey and mix until the yeast dissolves. Add the olive oil to the jug when the yeast has started to bubble a little, this should take no more than ten minutes. Add the yeasty water to the flour and knead  using the heel of your hand, pushing out and pulling back, do this for 10 to 15 minutes until the dough can be stretched without tearing. Allow to rise for at least an hour.

For the sauce I always start by putting the oil into the pan without the heat on, add the garlic, chilli and oregano. Turn the hob onto a medium heat and when you can only just smell the garlic add the tomatoes immediately, add the water to help the tomatoes break down and cook for 5-10 minutes until the water has evaporated and the tomatoes are a thick sauce. Finish with the sugar, salt and black pepper.
I stuffed my calzone with superb quality fresh mozzarella, basil, spinach, chestnut mushrooms, Milano salami, chargrilled artichokes,black olives and red onion. I cooked and seasoned the mushrooms first and when they were lightly brown I placed them onto kitchen paper to soak any excess liquids. With the spinach I wilted this in a pan and when it had cooled I squeezed as much liquid as I possibly could. The fresh mozzarella with also need draining on kitchen paper, this is to ensure that during the cooking process the dough will not become soggy but will be lovely and crisp.

Knock back the dough and knead again for another five minutes.
Split the dough into four and on a well flour board roll out until you have roughly a ten inch round, the dough should be lovely and thin. Spoon a little tomato sauce on the dough and spread it out leaving a border of an inch around the edges.

Add your chosen fillings and fold the pizza in half, fold over the edges to ensure there are no gaps in the edges. Place onto a well floured baking tray and dust a little more flour on top of the calzones. Bake for 15-20 minutes of until golden brown.

Appelkaka (Wardale wedding cake)

My mother has always made this Swedish apple cake as far back as I can remember, it's one of the most moist cakes I have ever tasted, this is mainly down to the use of grated marzipan in place of ground almonds. This was also one of the very first cakes that I baked for my husband, he loved it so much that when we decided to get married, he insisted that our wedding cake should be "appelkaka". Normally this would be made as one large cake, but for our wedding my mother tirelessly made batch after batch of these tiny cakes. I cannot tell you the overwhelming response that we had about these almondy sweet treats but it was completely worth the effort. This original recipe makes one cake but feel free to experiment like my mother did, armed with beautiful little baking cases they look truly impressive and wonderfully shabby chic.

You will need:

250g of marzipan

125g softened butter

3 egg separated

80g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

2-3 apples

2 tbsp of demerara sugar

50g of butter for the top

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c. Line and grease an 8 inch cake tin. I leave the Marzipan in the fridge so that it is easier to grate, cream the grated marzipan and butter together. Separate the eggs, reserve the egg whites to one side for later. Whisk in each egg yolk one at a time until incorporated. Sieve the flour and baking powder and fold into the marzipan mixture. Whisk the egg whites until they form firm peaks. Fold in the egg whites with a spatula or a metal spoon, cut through the middle in a figure of eight moving the bowl as you gently fold. When the egg whites are just mixed in decant the batter into the cake tin. Top the batter with peeled, cored and sliced apples, arrange the apples in circles, starting with the outside in. Sprinkle with a little demerara and top with a little blobs of the butter. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes, you may need to cover the top with foil half way through the cooking process so the top does not brown too quickly. The middle should be a damp sponge, serve with lashings of thick cream.

Coconut Sambal

 The perfect accompaniment for a Sri Lankan Dhal. If you love coconut, this might actually change your life. Sri lankans are big on their Sambals and Chutneys but this one in particular is my favourite, it adds heat, texture and savouriness where required. I know that a coconut is not the easiest ingredient to grate but if you place an opened coconut into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, the heat loosens the flesh away from the shell subsequently making the coconut effortless to grate. Do not use dessicated coconut in place of fresh because it will not taste even remotely similar. A little effort may be required but it is completely worth it.

You will need:
150g of freshly grated coconut
1 1/2 tsp Maldon salt
One small red diced onion
1 tsp of chilli powder
1 fresh red chilli
The juice of one lime.

In a pestle and mortar crush the fresh red chilli and onion with the salt until it is a fine paste. Add the coconut, chilli powder and lime juice. Mix until full incorporated. Job done!

Sri Lankan Dhal

I have had such great memories of eating this particular dhal recipe on a daily basis whilst in Sri Lanka on our honey moon. My husband mark found a little restaurant on Unawatuna beach called the yellow. 
 At first glance it looked like a run down shack, and when you got closer it looked even worse, cleanliness is not really on the agenda in many restaurants there, but if you close you eyes and forget the state of the kitchen you are guaranteed great food. Sri Lankan Dhal differs so much from various indian Dhals, this is due to the abundance of coconuts in Sri Lanka that play a huge role in their cuisine. The curries are lighter, fresher with a gentle kick, mellowed by copious amounts of creamy coconut. I'm not even ashamed to say we ate this dhal at the same spot every day, with coconut sambal , red rice and rotis. This is the sort of dish that makes me want to be a vegetarian, the need for meat depleats with every mouthful. Sri Lankans are magicians when it come to using spice, they can transform the humble lentil to a master piece.

You will need:
300g of red or yellow lentils, the yellow do take longer to break down
1 large  sliced red onion
3 tbsp of coconut oil
1 bruised lemongrass stalk
20 curry leaves
2 tablespoons of Sri Lankan curry powder (please see note)
1 tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
2 chopped green chillies
50g of finely crushed garlic
400ml of coconut milk
3 tbsp of sugar
1 cinnamon stick (cassia bark)
1 1/2 tbsp of salt
1 chicken or vegetable stock pot
2 tablespoons of fresh corriander
The juice of a lime
1 Pandan leaf
50g of freshly chopped tomatoes

In a large sauce pan of water boil the lentils until they have just softened and have swollen a little, this should only take 15 minutes. In another saucepan on high, heat the coconut oil and fry the onion and curry leaves until the onions are translucent, add the spices followed by the chillies and garlic. Add the lentils and the lemongrass and pandan leaves back into the pot and add the coconut milk, cassia bark, sugar, stock, salt and tomatoes and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the lentils have broken down. Finish with the juice of a lime and a scattering of corriander. Serve with coconut Sambal.

NOTE:
Sri Lankan curry powder

2 teaspoon corriander seeds

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

1 teaspoons of fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

1 small cassia bark stick broken into pieces

4 cardamon pods

4 cloves

2 inch piece of pandan leaf

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Chilli Jam

I know the words Chilli and Jam may not go together for some people, nor does it seem like a very appetising pairing, but if you love chillies like I do, this may possibly change your life. Give me a strong blue cheese and some chilli jam any day of the week. A lot of my friends are under the impression that because I love to cook I would be very picky and expect the creme de la creme of cuisine, however I'm the total opposite. Yes I love good food, but simplicity is often the best, you can keep your fancy cheffy ways because when it boils down to it quality wins over technique every time. I happen to think the heat and sweetness of this jam compliments any strong cheese. Jam is not to be feared this is hugely forgiving and can be used in such a lot of things. This is for all you chilli addicts.

You will need:
1kg of jam sugar (with added pectin) 
50ml of water
150ml of white vinegar
2 tablespoons of deseeded scotch bonnet chillies and finely chopped
2 finely chopped red romano peppers
3 tbsp of chopped garlic
2 1/2 tsp of maldon sea salt
1 tsp of chopped marjoram or thyme
the juice of one lime

Place all of the above items into a pan and cook for 20-25 minutes on a medium heat. That's all folks.

Chilli Crab Linguine

Judging from the amount of Seafood recipes I post I'm sure you can all gather by now that I'm a seafood addict. When the summer months creep in, there isn't an excuse I cannot find to buy a huge whole crab. My local market has an amazing fish monger called Ian Thomsen who sells the best quality crabs I have ever tasted. I like to dress my own crab, but if you are not feeling very brave by all means buy a dressed crab, but it's not as hard as you think, grab a good hammer and channel your aggression on the Crab. Usually I'm a total purist when it comes to crab meat, the less done the better, but with this particular recipe I can make allowances. In this case I feel that the chilli brings out the sweetness of the crab, the amount used is not an aggressive wave of heat, more a gently kiss of spice on your tonsils. 

 I did make my own pasta for this recipe, I think a crab of such supreme quality deserves to be respectfully paired with good hand made pasta. I know that you can get very good packet pasta these days, but handmade cannot be beaten, give it a try it's not as tricky as you think, and very worth the effort.

This recipes serves 4 people or 2 very    greedy people

For the sauce
You will need:
300g of white crab meat
3 tbsp of brown crab meat
75g of salted butter
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp of lemon zest
50g of chopped garlic
1 tablespoon of deseeded chilli
1 tsp of dried chilli flakes
100g of  chopped fresh cherry tomatoes
100ml of double cream
1 tablespoon of chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon of chopped chives
1 tablespoon of torn basil leaves
1 tsp of fresh oregano
1/4 tsp of black pepper
100ml of dry white wine (if you're not drinking it, don't use it)
the juice of a quarter of a lemon
1 tsp of maldon salt
1 tbsp of freshly shaved Parmesan
50ml of pasta water (save the water from boiling the pasta)
1/4 tsp of sugar

For the pasta:
200g of double zero flour
1/4 tsp of fine sea salt
6 large egg yolks

3 tsp of olive oil

  I start by making the pasta, the easiest way is to put it all into a food processor and mix it for 5 minutes, until the dough is soft and silky. If you do not have a food processor mix it by hand and knead the dough for at least 10 minutes until the dough is soft and pliable. Wrap the pasta and refrigerate for at least an hour. Take a small amount of dough and shape it into a rough rectangle. Using a well floured pasta machine set to one, roll the dough through the machine and each time you do it fold the pasta into three, in the same way you would fold a leaflet, do this three or four times and then begin to roll without folding decreasing the settings on the pasta machine, working from 1 to 7.

 When you can read a newspaper through the pasta dough (or in my case a lottery ticket) you are ready to cut the dough into linguine. Flour the pasta sheet and fold it over concertina style and finely chop the pasta into thin strips or little tongues as the italians would call it. Sprinkle a little more flour onto the pasta and toss the pasta until the strips have loosened. Cook for 2-3 minutes in heavily salted water, the trick is that you should always cook pasta is water as salty as the Mediterranean sea.
In a large sauce pan saute the garlic and chilli and dried chilli in the butter and olive oil until you can smell the garlic. Add the white wine, Oregano and lemon zest, cook for a further five minutes so that the alcohol burns off. Add the brown crab meat, cream, salt, pepper, sugar and cherry tomatoes. Once the pasta has cooked add the pasta to the sauce (always pasta to sauce, not sauce to pasta) toss until well coated. Add the 50ml of pasta water, Parsley, Basil, Chives and white crab meat, turn off the heat immediately. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and shavings of Parmesan. Pasta perfection.